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Man charged over Sarah Cafferkey's murder

Jeff Turnbull

Victorian woman Sarah Cafferkey was stabbed several times before her body was driven from the murder scene and stuffed into a wheelie bin, an out-of-sessions Melbourne court has been told.

Steven James Hunter, 47, showed no emotion when he appeared handcuffed, barefoot and dressed in a white forensic jumpsuit on Tuesday night charged with murdering 22-year-old Ms Cafferkey on November 10 at a flat in Simpson St, Bacchus Marsh.

Detective Senior Constable Damien O'Mahoney, of the Homicide Squad, said Hunter had made admissions relating to the murder of Ms Cafferkey.

He told the hearing Ms Cafferkey had been stabbed "multiple times" on November 10 at the Bacchus Marsh address before her body was taken to a house in Point Cook, where her remains were found.

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Ms Cafferkey, who lived in Bacchus Marsh, was last seen by her family on November 9.

"Her body was moved from Bacchus Marsh to Fongeo Drive, Point Cook, and placed in a wheelie bin," Det Snr Const O'Mahoney told the hearing, which was held in a conference room of the St Kilda Road police complex.

In the hearing that lasted only three minutes, Hunter was remanded in custody to appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Hunter, whose clothing had been seized for forensic testing, was arrested at a Melbourne unit block on Tuesday by heavily armed undercover officers and special operations group (SOG) police.

More than a dozen officers surrounded the units in Hawthorn and called on the 47-year-old to give himself up.

Witnesses say he quickly emerged without incident, looking dishevelled in shorts, an ACT Brumbies rugby shirt and no shoes.

Ms Cafferkey's car had been found abandoned elsewhere in Melbourne.

Her friends and family had launched an online campaign in a search for her, which later prompted hundreds of vile messages on Facebook as details of her death and the police manhunt emerged.

Victoria Police released a statement on Tuesday to warn the public about posting prejudicial material online, which has been a concern for authorities in other high-profile cases still before the courts.